Rachier: McKinstry will still be Gor Mahia coach next season

Irishman Johnathan McKinstry will keep his position as Gor Mahia coach, the club’s chairman Ambrose Rachier has said.

Rachier said McKinstry, 37, had done a good job in steering K’Ogalo to the 2022/23 Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) title despite facing several off field challenges.

These included financial issues and being forced to operate with a lean squad of 18 players for the better part of the season, owing to the two-year Fifa transfer ban on the club thanks to dues owed to some of its former players.

After their 3-2 loss to Kakamega Homeboyz on June 21 at Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, hundreds of Gor’s fans camped outside the team’s dressing room demanding answers on why the team had failed to seal the title on that day.

Some called for the sacking of the former Uganda Cranes coach. Rachier said that even though McKinstry is assured of his place at the club next season, they intend to have a meeting with him over areas they believe he is not getting right.

“He will be at the club next season. He has done his best because when he came, we did not have a credible team but he has made it up,” said Rachier.

“We need to reinforce our team and have a serious chat with him on whatever we think he is not doing right. We will have an honest talk with him.”

Speaking on NTV’s Monday night live sports show, SportOn!, McKinstry said it is “a fantastic feeling” for him to have guided the team to victory on his first attempt.

Gor lifted the title on the final day of the competition with an emphatic 4-1 win over Nairobi City Stars at MISC. They topped the standings with 70 points, one above Tusker.  

McKinstry said their strategy in winning the title was going for maximum points right from the start of the competition on November 19.

“We said we are going to set out from the first whistle of the season and try to collect as many points as possible, so that if we do stumble in the back end of the season, that won’t be catastrophic to us,” said the coach.

He reiterated that Gor winning the title is indeed a surprise to many because of the challenges the club faced.

“This trophy is ahead of schedule. Most people were saying it is going to be a mid-table performance and even some pessimists were saying it could be a relation fight because of how lean the squad was,” he said.

McKinstry also paid tribute to sponsors SportPesa, the Green Army and well-wishers for their unwavering supporting to the club.

Gaming firm SportPesa entered a three-year sponsorship deal with Gor worth Sh 240 million on September 23, last year.

SportPesa said it will reward the club with Sh3.5 million, while Information Communication and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo gifted the club Sh3 million on Monday.

The coach said the club has started preparing for the Caf Champions League. Their last appearance at the prestigious continental showpiece was in January 2021, when they lost 8-1 on aggregate to CR Belouizdad of Algeria.